JUSTIFIED?: UK mom kills husband with boiling water after daughter says he sexually abused her and her brother

A mother in England has been sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband with boiling water after hearing he sexually abused her two children.

According to a report by the Liverpool Echo, officials say Corinna Smith, 59, of Neston, poured a mixture of boiling water and sugar on Michael Baines, 80, as he was sleeping. Prosecutors say Baines suffered serious burns to over one-third of his body. He died in the hospital a month later. Prosecutors told a local court the sugar “made the liquid more viscous, thicker and stickier, so that it stays on the skin and causes greater damage.”

Smith, reportedly “livid” and “fuming” at news of her spouse’s alleged predatory behavior, mixed two kettles of water with three bags of sugar before attacking Baines in bed. He died in the hospital five weeks later after repeated surgery and skin grafts. Smith’s daughter claimed Baines had sexually abused her and her brother “for many years when they were children.” The brother, Craig, committed suicide in 2007, and had been imprisoned for an assault. Smith must serve a minimum of 12 years before being considered for parole.